Oxford: Round 2

Oxford. Something just feels right about being here. Good trails, good biking infrastructure, and lots of college students. I'm glad to call myself a student again; though, it was something I used to dread. But, I've undergone a paradigm shift. I used to think that everyone was supposed to finish college at 22, get married, have a family, yada yada, etc. Now that's been thrown out the window.

It seems wrong to ever stop learning. It took over a year of menial labor for me to realize this. Sometimes I wish I'd done a gap year between high school and college, but I doubt things would've turned out the same. There are distinct, recognizable events that got me where I am today.

I'm only taking three classes this semester: calculus, physics, and computer programming with Java. Cal and physics will be refreshers to a degree, but I'm really looking forward to programming. I've even set a goal to write a smart phone app before I get a smart phone. It may be something simple like a magic 8 ball or pong, but it'll be a challenge none-the-less.

I'm taking my time looking for a job, trying to find something I don't dread. I tried a landscaping position but quickly realized the long hours wouldn't allow any time for school (or biking for that matter). I have an interview tomorrow for a groundskeeper position with the city - basically what I did in Telluride. I think it'll be a good job for this semester with regular hours and decent pay. Hopefully, I can find a way to keep the job next semester when I'm taking on-campus classes.

Lucy seems to be enjoying her home-town and the Whirlpool Trails. She got so excited running through the woods that she misjudged jumping a ditch and landed right in the middle in about a foot of water with a nice splash. Didn't slow her down though.

Moving back here has taken some re-adjusting. I'm living a semi-college life while trying to stay focused on both school and racing. I've even ordered an athletic cook book called The Feedzone to get some good ideas for proper race fuel. Fast food and beer are not the answer! I expect to be pretty busy this semester with work, school, racing, and some other projects, so this blog will probably see infrequent posts at best. But, I'll be having a good time :)

State Games

I think it's safe to say that every mountain bike racer is a masochist to some degree and that the level of pain increases proportionally with speed. In training, most people eventually hit a pain threshold and their ability plateaus. It takes a lot of will power to push past that and get faster. 

For this year's State Game's Race, relocated to the Ridgeland Trails from Butt's Park, my strategy was different than usual. This was my first XC Cat 1 race, so I decided to stay back at first to see how things played out. I was intentionally last (5th) into the woods. As the top two guys rode away, I quickly realized the rest of us were competing for third. Halfway through the first lap, I moved to fourth, then third in the second lap when the guy in front of me stopped to put air in his tire. 

The course started and ended with a really fast, open downhill section - maybe the only single track where I've used the top gear on my bike. I got near horizontal in the berms at the bottom. I was flying. I knew the top two guys were incredibly fast, but I was at least going to try to catch them. 

In the third and fourth laps I burped my front tire three times and had to really be careful during the last mile or so running on about 10 psi. It was in these laps that I passed the most people, mostly Cat 3's I assume. By this time they were pretty spaced out, and every rider I passed was just a little bit faster than the last. 

I finished in third place, 7 minutes behind first. That's a big gap! Still, my confidence is boosted now. In the next race, I aim to be second into the woods and hang on as long as I can. 

6 Hours of Clear Creek

Endurance Pace. My second favorite pace, right next to Race Pace. Endurance races aren't just about going fast, though. One must also be efficient. This means taking it easy on long climbs, maintaining momentum through the turns and going fast downhill. There's also a lot of strategy when it comes to eating and pacing. 

My "night before" plan didn't go exactly the way I intended. Seeing that I was hanging out with my best friend for the first time in six months, we drank a lot of beer. Then went to the Square and drank more beer. Following tradition, we ordered dinner from Coop - a fried chicken restaurant that delivers - also notorious for upsetting your digestive track the next day. Regardless, there must be some decent calories there, as it got me through the first few laps. The good thing that came from so much beer was that I made sure to re-hydrate. I probably drank a liter of water during the night, then a lot of Powerade first thing in the morning and finally, coffee to flush it through my system.

I knew 5 laps would've been reasonably easy, but 6 was the challenge. I didn't bother too much with the holeshot, but I also didn't want to get stuck behind a bunch of slow people. I was 5th into the woods and passed two people in the first 5 miles. My first lap was around 56 minutes, the second around 58. The third lap was 1:01 since I rode with a slower guy for a while. I kicked it back up to crank out two more 58 minute laps. This combined with two stops to swap water bottles and one stop to pee left me at 4:55 when I finished my fifth lap. By this time, my hands were blistered, my feet hurt, and I was reasonably tired. It would hurt, but I knew I had time for one more lap. 

I was running on fumes and was prepared to drain the tank, but still I bonked harder than I'd imagined. I was creeping up hills but still flying down. I've learned how to do that without using much energy. I'd saved my watered down powerade mix for the last two laps, and it was a sweet nectar of the gods. But it ran out 6 miles into the last lap. As dehydration set in, I was expecting to have a spiritual vision any moment. Nearing the last quarter mile or so, I heard a cowbell and someone yelling that I only had a few minutes left. The trail looped back closer to them, and then it was one minute left! With a last burst of adrenaline, I stood up on the pedals and hammered through the finish line with 28 seconds to spare. 

I coasted to my truck, in a daze, and heard someone say, "Dude that was awesome! How are you not vomiting?!" I might've hurled if there was anything at all in my stomach. That day was definitely in my top 5 for extreme exhaustion.

When I finally wandered over to the race pavilion, I learned that I was the only person to do 6 laps! I was shocked. I never expected to win this race, my first Cat 1 race. I'll admit it felt great. I was tired though. Too tired to drive back to the coast. Too tired to work Monday. So worth it. 

Going Fast

With my recent upgrade to Cat 1, I've been training. Hard. My old race pace is now my training pace. I've reached speeds that I didn't think were possible. And I still need to go faster. Cat 1 races are generally 50% farther with top lap times 12% faster than Cat 2. Fortunately, going fast is self-perpetuating. The faster I go, the faster I WANT to go. 

Riding at race pace is a completely different experience than "normal" riding. I find I'm having to unlearn some concepts I was taught by the rigid single speed. Things change when approaching Mach 3. Obstacles become a blur. I no longer focus on finding smooth parts of the trail. Instead, I focus on setting up for the next turn like a billiard player thinking ahead for the next shot. Maintaining maximum speed through a turn involves finding the most traction and holding that line. Roots be damned. Strangely, quick steering becomes a moot point. It's all about flow. It often feels like I'm going break my bike hopping it over logs, root clusters, ditches, and whatever else without bothering to slow down. It's a rush. I'm addicted. 

This infection is even spreading to my road biking, as it's easier to train on the road after work than drive to the trail. However, my comfortable, *cough*30lb*cough* road bike isn't great for intense riding. I've got my eye on a Flyxii road frame...just as soon as I recover from my last spending spree. Still, it's a whole lot cheaper than brand names. 

By this point I'm sure most people feel compelled to say "be careful", but the truth is, being careful is incompatible with racing. I'll do my best to keep it rubber side down though. 

Dust 'n' Bones

Yesterday's race was more like Mud 'n' Bones! Two hours before the scheduled start time of 3pm, the trail was in nearly perfect shape. Damp enough to be tacky, but not slick. At 2pm, however, the sky decided to dump buckets of rain for 20 minutes or so, then continued to drizzle off and on. The race was postponed till 4pm and cut short due to so much mud. Cat 2 and 3 only did one lap consisting of 8 miles, while Cat 1 did two laps.

This was my first time racing with gears and wasn't sure what to expect. Sizing up my competition at the start line, I noticed they all had racing tires - not so good for mud. I was thankful I had some bigger knobs and knew that would be a big advantage as this course mostly consisted of roots and wooden bridges with a lot of mud in between. I carefully selected my starting gear, key for gaining the holeshot, which I did. I usually can, but holding on to it is another story. The longer the race, the more strategy needed for pacing, but 8 miles is basically a sprint. My competition stayed on my heels for the first mile or so, then slowly slipped back. By the halfway point, I knew I had a good lead and decided to back off a notch. I was still riding fast, but I quit taking as many risks. I passed several single speeders and the back of the Cat 1s who had started 2 minutes ahead. I crossed the finish line ready for another lap, but the race was over.

I ended up getting 1st place overall for Cat 2 with a time of 48:15. I had over a 1 minute lead on the rest of the pack. Not trying to brag, but honestly if felt too easy. Still, the top Cat 1 lap times were around 42 minutes. I can't imagine shaving 6 minutes off that lap. It might be my last victory for a while though; I applied for a Cat 1 upgrade today!

The Time Has Come

The carbon hardtail 29er is coming soon. I'm aiming to step up my racing, and my current steel hardtail is too heavy. It might seem crazy, but 20-30 mile races are won and lost by a matter of seconds. A few extra pounds can be a significant disadvantage.

The new frame is an FR-202 sold by Flyxii. There's no telling who makes it, but most likely it's made right next to the big name-brand bikes in the exact same factory and sold for a fraction of the cost - like 1/5 of the cost. Structural quality seems on par. It might be a tad heavier, but hopefully, that can be attributed to it being over-built. The only issue I found was a little overspray in the headtube, but that can be corrected easily enough. While this bike will have multiple gears, I won't stray too far from the name of this blog. The rigid single speed will be up and running soon enough, though I have to cannibalize it temporarily.

I'm hoping to race Cat 1 soon, but I'll still be Cat 2 for the race next weekend as there's an application to advance to Cat 1 with requirements of placing twice in Cat 2. It's been a while since my last race, so it'll be good to see where I stand. I can't help but feel like I "peaked" during my last semester of college, but getting beat by riders twice my age gives me hope that there's always room for improvement.

The Swan Song to this Adventure

As luck would have it, the house I was renting sold, and I had to be out by April 1st. However, I wanted to work till the 8th to finish out the winter season. I'm sure I could've found a place to crash for that week, had I wanted to. Instead, I opted to move out on the 28th, store my big stuff at work, and sleep in the back of my truck for a week and a half.

At first it was strange not having "anywhere" to go, but I got used to it. I rode my bike with Lucy, went out to eat, and sometimes, stayed at the shop to shower, use the Internet, cook, etc. No one else stays late, so it was easy to go unnoticed. I even slept in the parking lot. For the weekend, I went south to Cortez to get in some Colorado mountain biking. It'll probably be the last time for a while.

I've come to realize that being homeless isn't always obvious. I was curious what my minimum comfort level would be, and I think I would at least need a slide in camper. I need a place to relax and cook, as well as a place to sleep. I would also need a source of heat, though I've been fairly comfortable even with temps into the twenties. I'm looking forward to staying put for a while and buying some things I've put off for the sake of moving ease, such as: a waffle maker, french press, other cookware, and of course more bikes.